Upanishads · Jābāladarśana 4.48
॥
Devanāgarī
श्रीपर्वतं शिरःस्थाने केदारं तु ललाटके । वाराणसी महाप्राज्ञ भ्रुवोर्घ्राणस्य मध्यमे
Transliteration (IAST)
śrīparvataṃ śiraḥsthāne kedāraṃ tu lalāṭake | vārāṇasī mahāprājña bhruvorghrāṇasya madhyame
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
श्री-पर्वतं शिरः-स्थानेśrī-parvataṃ śiraḥ-sthāneShriparvata in the place of the head
केदारं तु ललाटकेkedāraṃ tu lalāṭakeKedara, however, in the forehead
वाराणसी महा-प्राज्ञvārāṇasī mahā-prājñaVaranasi, O great in wisdom
भ्रुवोः घ्राणस्य मध्यमेbhruvoḥ ghrāṇasya madhyamebetween the brows and the nose
Translation
"Shriparvata in the place of the head; Kedara, however, in the forehead; Varanasi, O great in wisdom, between the brows and the nose."
Version
3adcaa5f5843 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The transposition of holy places into the body begins, and it will continue for several more lines. Shriparvata is a mountain in Andhra, Kedara a shrine in the Himalayas, Varanasi is Kashi, of which detailed discussion was given in the Bhasma-jabala. All three are placed in the head.
This device has its own history and its own name in Indian literature: it is called antar-tirtha, "the inner place of pilgrimage." It is worth saying where it comes from, for its origin is noble. Pilgrimage is costly, long, and dangerous; not everyone can undertake it. And teachers who did not wish to cut off the poor and the infirm said: the place you cannot go to is within you.
This thought is also present in Vaishnava books, and it is stated sharply. The Bhagavatam says: tirthi-kurvanti tirthani, "holy places are made holy by those" who live in them (1.13.10); and elsewhere it is said directly that one who visits places of pilgrimage without purifying his mind is like a donkey carrying a load. It is worth naming, however, the danger of such a transposition, for a danger exists.
If every place is within me, there is no need to go anywhere; and with the going falls away also what the going was for — meeting others. Pilgrimage is not only the movement of a body: it is the one occasion on which a person finds himself among a multitude of strangers, engaged in the same thing he is. The Vaishnava side acknowledges the inner places and keeps the outer ones; and its rule is that the first does not cancel the second, but explains why the second works.